“You cannot take your freedoms for granted. Just like generations who have come before you, you have to do your part to preserve and protect those freedoms…you need to be preparing yourself to add your voice to our national conversation. You need to prepare yourself to be informed and engaged as a citizen, to serve and to lead, to stand up for our proud American values and to honor them in your daily lives.” —From her final speech as First Lady on Jan. 6, 2017

“Plenty of folks—including me and my husband—started out with very little. But with a good education and a lot of hard work, anything is possible.” —From her final speech as First Lady on Jan. 6, 2017

“Let us not forget: I didn’t just wake up first lady…I mean, I went to law school, I practiced law, I worked for the city, I ran a nonprofit (and) I was an executive at a hospital. I’ve been in the world. I’ve worked in every sector, and you don’t do that without coming up against some stuff. You know, having your feelings hurt, having people say things about you that aren’t true. … Life hits you, so over the course of living, you learn how to protect yourself in it. You learn to take in what you need and get rid of the stuff that’s clearly not true.” —Interview with Oprah Winfrey in Dec. 2017

“We have bumps in the road. We have ups and downs but I want our kids to move forward—I don’t care where they come from—with strength and with hope.” —Interview on The Tonight Show in Jan. 2017